Saturday, June 7, 2008

Victimization and Identity Politics Will Reach New Heights

I just listened to Hillary Clinton's concession speech. It was notable for her insistence that women are still serious victims of bias. Paired with Obama, who believes minorities are still treated unfairly, we will have a nation of ever growing victimhood among women and minorities.

As a white guy, I know that women and minorities allow me no credibility on this, but I deeply believe that, certainly over the last three decades, women and minorities have had more than equal opportunity in this country and that it is whites and men who are not getting treated fairly according to their merit.

And in response to the argument that we need reverse discrimination to compensate for past injustices, I deeply believe that the net effect of that is a large negative. It results in less competent, doctors, lawyers, and bridge builders. It results in quiet resentment among white boys and men, which reduce the likelihood of racial and gender understanding. And in the largest sense, from where I sit, it is a cosmic injustice.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

And don't you love that this came from a woman who almost became the most powerful person in the world?

I know both of them came from times when, as children, dreaming to be president might have been considered an impossible dream. They're not living in those times anymore. Both of them had to work hard, focus, and sacrifice (among other, less noble things, I would guess) to get where they are today. But this is not the message they send to the rest of us.

The rest of us can't work hard, focus, and sacrifice as they did. The rest of us can't be expected to do that because it would be too much to ask of us. The rest of us are "victims" and need to be taken care of.

But even if these two were not in the public eye so much perpetuating this crap, there would be plenty of others picking up the slack. They, and many of us, are crying "victim" like the boy who cried "wolf," and if this continues, the "victims" will be eaten alive, just like the boy who cried "wolf."

Anonymous said...

I realized there has been a change in me that has occurred unnoticed. It was during all of this immigration debate and arguing over who is a real American. I asked myself if I was an American. The immediate answer was "no". The reason why was that I had become like Norm Alpi's wife. Let me explain. Norm Alpi was a man who had been a severe alcoholic for many years. One day his wife announced that after 25 years of marriage she was leaving him. This came as a shock to Norm. The way he saw it, he had given her the best years of his life, and now she was leaving him? Why?? The way she put it was, She just didn't care any more. Norm had taken every last shred of caring in her and just burned it up. And that is the same reason I don't care any more. Afer years of being treated like I was the enemy, I no longer can, have any feelings for this country. As for the inhabitants of Hillary Land, they mean nothing to me. I guess what I really want is a divorce. Are differences have become irreconcilable.

 

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